Phoenix, Arizona — January 15, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) (OTCQB: GCUMF) (FSE: 3XS0) has announced that Rio Tinto’s Nuton® Technology has partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS), making AWS its first customer after deploying its innovative bioleaching technology at Gunnison’s Johnson Camp copper mine in the U.S. last month.
Under the agreement, AWS will use Nuton copper in components of its U.S. data centers, while AWS will provide cloud-based data and analytics support to optimize Nuton’s bioleaching technology at the Johnson Camp Mine. Data centers use copper in various applications, including electrical cables, busbars, transformer and motor windings, printed circuit boards, and processor heat sinks.
Nuton uses AWS platforms to simulate heap-leach performance and feed advanced analytics into its decision systems, optimizing acid and water use while improving copper recovery predictions.
Nuton’s modular bioleaching system extracts copper from primary sulfide material using naturally occurring microorganisms. This approach, combined with digital tools, enables rapid technology scaling and tailoring to different mineralized material bodies, reducing the concept-to-production pathway.
The process produces 99.99% pure copper cathode at the mine gate, eliminating the need for traditional concentrators, smelters, and refineries, shortening the mine-to-market supply chain. Nuton projects lower water usage and carbon emissions compared to conventional concentrator processing routes, while also recovering value from previously classified waste material.
Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Katie Jackson stated that the collaboration demonstrates how industrial innovation and cloud technology can deliver cleaner, lower-carbon materials at scale. She added that AWS’s data and analytics expertise will help accelerate optimization and verification across operations and that bringing Nuton copper into AWS’s U.S. data-center supply chain will help strengthen domestic resilience and secure critical materials closer to where they are used.
Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst said that Amazon’s Climate Pledge goal to reach net zero carbon by 2040 requires innovation across all operations, including materials sourcing. Hurst stated that the collaboration with Nuton Technology represents a breakthrough approach to copper production that reduces carbon emissions and water use. She added that securing access to lower-carbon materials produced close to home strengthens supply chain resilience and the ability to decarbonize at scale as they continue to invest in next-generation carbon-free energy technology and expand their data center operations.
Gunnison Copper’s Chief Executive Officer and President Stephen Twyerould said that having the first Nuton copper produced from Johnson Camp used in AWS’s U.S. data centers is a milestone for this technology’s ability to deliver lower-carbon, domestically produced and used copper. Twyerould added that the collaboration highlights how innovation, digital optimization, and Made-in-America copper production can strengthen U.S. supply chains while supporting the growing demand for critical minerals powering modern infrastructure.
For further information regarding this press release, please contact Melissa Mackie at T: 647.533.4536 or E: info@GunnisonCopper.com
Source: Gunnison Copper
